It was just announced that the Philadephia Eagles have signed Michael Vick to a 2-year contract. I've been an Eagles fan for 40-some years. I bled green.

Tonight I give my beloved Eagles a middle-finger salute. May you go 0-16 this season and every season you have this piece of human garbage on your team. Signing T.O was bad, but at least he had talent. This wanna be gangsta has always been over rated. Throwing snowballs at Santa - that I can understand. Being at times a bit on the class-less side - that I can understand. Signing this ghetto thug - nope, ya lost me. Let those who say "he served his time" invite him to their team. Screw you Jeffrey Lurie and a heartuy screw you to the Eagles.

Joe, I just heard that too on the ten o'clock news. . . Disappointing is not the word for it. I understand that maybe Vick came from somewhere that found nothing wrong with something as heinous as dog fighting, but that doesn't excuse him, in my mind. Give him another chance, perhaps, to straighten his life out, but not in such a high-profile career. Too many young kids idolize sports figures to allow someone with that past to play a professional sport. . . Looks like the Eagles are more worried about money than morals.

Pam, if it was just the dog fighting alone I could accept it better (not that that's not bad enough). But this guy was a sadist who hung dogs, electrocuted dogs, and stood around with his gangster friends and laughed while watching it.

I should actually thank the Eagles I guess. I've been paying Direct TV a ridiculous price each year for Sunday Ticket just so I could watch the Eagles down here. Today I'll be cancelling that, so at least they saved me a couple hundred bucks a year.

I haven't been following the story much.. I know what he was charged with... but the question in my mind is this... how is what he did a FEDERAL Crime?

It would seem to me that the state could prosecute this situation quite nicely and if that is the case, are the federal prosecutors so bored that this is the best thing they could do on a rainy afternoon?

If he did not violate a state law, then it would seem that his fellow citizens had no problem with what he did, and the question becomes again, what makes this a federal crime.

I am NOT advocating what he did, but I think the sensationalism of who he was and the ugly publicity that is generated by the wanton killing of dogs turned this into media circus

Click hereto see the original indictment. Several reasons it was federal, including the fact that they used the US Mail in the conspiracy - that makes it a Fed rap automatically. Note bullet-point (a) on page 2.

The line that hit me was that dog fighting was part of his culture growing up. Spare me the BS. He did what he did because he thought he could do anything. Above the law. And add Tony Dungy to the list as disgraceful. Mentor?? Please...he got him the job. Dungy should know better. Football should be the last thing on Vick's mind. His time should be spent on fixing what he did wrong. But then again, what do I know?

The man served his time in prison for the crimes that he committed. He lost all his money (at least he filed for bankruptcy). He went on 60 Minutes and faced the music to the entire nation. Are there some crimes that once paid for do not lend themselves to a second chance? Is it not possible, that with this second chance, he may be able to do good with the millions that he has the opportunity to make?

Personally, I don't know if I could be the man to give him a second chance. I don't think if he signed with the Broncos (like we don't have enough problems) it would have gone over too well in Denver. I look at my dog and think of what Vick did as heinous and nauseating. But maybe, possibly, with his experiences and celebrity, maybe he can change a life. I think maybe before we condemn the man to hell, we wait a couple years and see what he does with this second opportunity.

And...if my wife ever relented and let me get Sunday Ticket...well, I would never let her know I now hated the team that was the sole reason for the subscription.

I do agree, Tim, that Vick has served his time, paid his dues (literally), and may deserve a second chance. But the most important issue for me is, has he changed? He's now an ex-con, he's in bankruptcy, and he's making the rounds saying the right things--but I'm not sure that was his decision. I suspect, knowing what I know about Vick, that someone's been "guiding" him on how to be repentant, or at least sound that way. After the uproar has died down a little, and he has to continue to show he's changed (not just by giving money to the ASPCA, etc., and saying the accepted things), then I'll make my decision.

But I do think that he should not have been given a second chance in the pro football arena. First, too many kids idolize sports figures. Second, is football ALL that Vick can do? If so, then probably he has not changed at all in his thinking. It seems to me that allowing Vick to return to football is like allowing a "recovered" drug addict to return to his old haunts--too tempting, to easy to slip into the trappings the life of a player with a multi-million dollar contract can afford (such as dog fighting). The decision to do what Vick was involved in with dog fighting is a moral (or lack thereof) thing, not a football thing. If Vick has only one set of morals, then he has probably not changed, and allowing him to play will reward him for his wrongs. Just MHO.

I'm just disappointed that the powers that be in the Eagles nest didn't make a more wise decision other than who could win games for them. Guess I shouldn't be surprised!

The trend nowadays is to do something wrong, go on live TV and apologize, look sorry about what you did, and assume we'll all forgive you simply because you apologized. As if the apology is the hard part. I think what should really count is what you do AFTER the apology, whether you are "forgiven" or not.

"But I do think that he should not have been given a second chance in the pro football arena."

Bingo. Vick was given his second chance when he walked out of prison. THAT was his second chance. Saying pro football had to be part of that second chance is a jump I'm not willing to make. What got him into this was his typical pro athlete mentality of having everything handed to him, the "love" and adoration of millions, etc. without ever having to work for it coupled with his ghetto attitude (BTW, I don't use "ghetto" as a color specific thing. There's plenty of white ghetto thugs/punks).

Frankly, having watched the 60 Minutes interview, I never saw anyone who looked less sincere. As for Eagles fans screaming if he went to Dallas - sure. Many of us would have screamed no matter what team he went to - even the Baltimore Felons.

You all make some very fine points. But I would like to add that if you removed all the NFL players that don't live up to yours (and my) high moral values or your requirement that they be good role models for your children, you will be looking at some very watered down NFL rosters. When this came down, Clinton Portis of the Redskins said (and I can only paraphrase) that he couldn't understand what the big deal was. These are only dogs. He was promptly advised to shut up, and to his credit, he did. There are a lot of players with questionable values. And like it or not, yes the Eagles placed winning games with questionable characters above fielding a team of choir boys. But the NFL, from top to bottom, is about winning games, not providing our kids with heroes. I'll accept that job as a parent to point my kids, and the kids I coach, in that direction. If the Eagles have a winning season and Vick helps win some of the games, believe me, all will be forgiven in Philly.

As far as being accepted back into the NFL - why not? If Vick was a carpenter and convicted, did his time and then released, would you place a stipulation that he would not be allowed to be a carpenter anymore? He can fall back into hanging out with shady characters no matter his chosen profession.

Like I said earlier (and I think Pam almost echoed), I'm going to give the guy a second chance. Hopefully his advisor, Tony Dungy (a very respected man and football man), can help turn this horrible negative into a positive. If not, I'll fall in line with the rest of you. Until then, I will watch and see what happens.

I saw Mike Vick speaking to a bunch of high school kids today. The part I heard, he seemed to be saying all the right things. He seemed sincere to me. There is a reason people go to prison, and if they learned their lesson, it's good with me.

I'd go ahead and get that Sunday Ticket package again. Forgive, but never forget may be the way to go.